A two-month ceasefire has given aid groups a chance to step up aid to Yemen's hungry millions, but malnutrition ravaging children is projected to worsen if fighting returns or humanitarian funding does not pick up.
More than seven years of conflict in Yemen have devastated the economy, displaced millions and pushed food prices out of the reach of many. Surging grain and commodity prices globally are adding further strain.
"The benefits of the first weeks of truce are already significant," said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen director for the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The group has been able to give aid to 12,000 people in one district of Hajjah province that has not been reached for more than three years.
"Tens of millions of people in Yemen are living hand-to-mouth," said Richard Ragan of the World Food Programme (WFP), which is trying to feed half of Yemen's 30 million people in one of its largest programmes.
Stunted and weakened by severe malnourishment, one-year-old Jiad Jalal's skin is dry and wrinkled over his protruding skull, limbs and stomach.
Living in a makeshift displacement camp in Khadish, Hajjah, one of Yemen's poorest regions, Jalal is one of 2.2 million children under five — including 538,000 severely malnourished — who will suffer acute malnutrition this year, according to pre-ceasefire UN estimates.
"We eat only what we can get from aid agencies. Wheat, beans and such items. If we don't receive food, then some days we eat and other days we go hungry," said his grandmother Zahra Ahmed.
"We are trapped between hunger and exhaustion. Look at the children," she said, gesturing to Jiad who they cannot afford to take to the capital Sanaa for treatment.
Hunger and malnutrition have worsened this year, the UN's March data showed. The global body projected that those unable to secure minimum nutrition will hit a new high of 19 million, up from 17.4 million currently, between June and December.
The number facing famine-like conditions could increase from 31,000 to 161,000 people, the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis said.
In Al Mahra, in Yemen's east, women in a displacement camp of tattered shelters built outdoor fires to fry dough balls that children eat, and pat bread into hot mud ovens.
We adults, we have to be patient and go hungry to feed the children
Fatima Qayed,
a mother of 10
"We adults, we have to be patient and go hungry to feed the children. If only you could see how sick I am, because I only feed my children," said Fatima Qayed, a mother of 10.
She said they only get aid once a year, during Ramadan, and rarely see meat. They buy food by collecting and selling plastic cans.
Seham Abdelhakim, a mother of four, feeds her young children sugar and water because she is unable to obtain milk.
"When I'm pregnant I barely eat, just tea and bread ... After I give birth it's the same thing; we have no chicken or anything. All I pray for is to hug my child after giving birth," she said.
When I'm pregnant I barely eat, just tea and bread ... After I give birth it's the same thing; we have no chicken or anything
Seham Abdelhakim,
a mother of four
UN Yemen Envoy Hans Grundberg said this week the two-month truce, which began on April 2 to coincide with Ramadan, was broadly holding with a "significant reduction of violence and civilian casualties".
The truce, the first nationwide cessation of hostilities since 2016, includes a halt to offensive military operations, and allows fuel imports into areas controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group and some commercial flights to operate from Houthi-held Sanaa.
Yemen Airways is scheduled to start operating return flights between Sanaa and Amman, Jordan, from Sunday.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015 to support Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Houthis.
The ceasefire has allowed the WFP and commercial partners to increase milling and distribution work, Mr Ragan said.
The truce "is good for Yemen but it's also good for the humanitarian operations that are so desperately needed to get up and running," he said.
He said the WFP's operations were 60 to 75 days behind schedule because of a previous escalation in fighting.
Should peace not allow Yemen's economy to rebuild, at least 80 per cent of the country will continue to rely on humanitarian assistance.
But in March, the UN received only $1.3 billion for 2022, well short of the planned $4.27 billion. Additional pledges have since come from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the EU, but funding remains precarious.
The WFP has since January reduced rations for 8 million of the 13 million people it feeds a month due to funding shortages.
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Suarez 27', Vidal 32', Dembele 35', Messi 78')
Sevilla 0
Red cards: Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
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Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
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5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
